Archive for the ‘Worcestershire’ Category

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has revealed a survey today showing engineering and construction professionals have become the most sought workers in the UK.

Overall, the survey, which is co-produced by KPMG, showed that companies are spending more on hiring permanent employees as opposed to part-time employment. However, the highest increase in hiring full-time employees has been in the construction engineering sector which hired more people due to recent infrastructure projects and the substantial government investment into such projects.

The survey also reported that the rise in full-time recruitment was linked to higher client activity as well as the government’s commitment to cut red tape for small and medium businesses.

Head of business services at KPMG, Bernard Brown, welcomed the positive findings of the survey explaining that the rise of demand in permanent staff suggest the economy is recovering from the financial crises at 2008.

Mr Brown said: “There are signs within some industries that things are looking up. Amongst the engineering, construction and IT sectors demand for permanent staff has increased since the turn of the year. With so much attention being paid to these sectors at the moment, close attention should be paid to see if this is a trend set to continue as the year progresses.”

What do you think of the survey showing high demand for workers in the construction engineering sector? If you are in one of these sectors, do you think you will find employment easier due to the high demand? Share your thoughts by commenting here:

North London’s Camden Council has announced it will open half of its housing repair and maintenance work for external contractors, Construction Enquirer reported today.

The decision of Camden Council to expand its list of maintenance and repair contractors will offer more opportunities to existing and new professionals in the building sector. The repair framework of Camden Council is expected to be worth around £14 million each year, meaning a significant incentive for a variety of firms in the building sector.

The Council’s current in-house contractor, DLO, has been working for sustainable development across some of its 33,000 housing stock; the additionally appointed contractor would work alongside council’s existing contractor which will carry out a separate £11m programme of housing work.

Camden Council will expect both, its current and newly joining contractors, to be working together in order to improve working systems and optimise existing procedures. The Council’s new maintenance contract will start in January 2013 initially for 5 years with the potential of the scheme to be extended by another 5 years.

Do you welcome the decision of Camden Council to put half of its housing repairs for an external contractor? What are your expectations of finding employment following Council’s decision? Share your thoughts by commenting here:

Wayne Thomson is an electrical tutor at the ATL centre in Worcestershire. Train4TradeSkills Radio spoke to Wayne to find out what students make of his training and how they are going to use it to develop their career.

Wayne Thomson is an electrical tutor at the ATL centre in Worcestershire. Train4TradeSkills Radio spoke to Wayne to find out what students make of his training and how they are going to use it to develop their career.

The university application body, UCAS, has announced a decrease of almost 9% in the number of students’ applying to universities in the UK. At the same time, the government has revealed statistics showing that some 457,200 apprenticeships were delivered for 2010/11 academic year which represents an increase of more than 60% from the previous year.

With tuition fees rising to up to £9,000 per year from 2012 and a record rate of youth unemployment, young people across Britain are considering apprenticeship schemes as a more stable way of developing their career.

With increased funding from the government, the number of people age between 16-21 years old who are starting apprenticeships is expected to rise even further from next year.

Apprenticeship Training Limited (ATL) is a leading national training provider in the Building Services Engineering sector with an established network of centres across the UK, including a centre in Worcestershire.

Its Hartlebury based centre, which was recently visited by BBC Hereford and Worcester, provides hundreds of apprenticeships to people of all ages across Worcestershire and West Midlands region.

BBC Hereford and Worcester reported that apprentices are given the opportunity to earn as well as learn, whilst they are gaining practical experience from the workplace.

Paul Barnes, who is 18-years old and from Bromsgrove, said to BBC Hereford and Worcester that he is convinced to have made the right decision by taking on an apprenticeship.

Paul, who completed his GCSEs with two A and three B grades, did not choose to go to university because of the huge debt he would have to pay back after graduating.

“I didn’t want to go to university because the fees are very expensive plus I would have had to spend two years at college doing A levels. So, I am skipping that and I am getting paid for the time I would have been doing A levels at college.”- the ambitious apprentice said.

Paul added: “I might even come out of this with some savings, rather than coming out of with the debt of around £40,000.”

The Government is determined to deepen its funding programme in order to deal with high levels of unemployment and get more people back into work.

In July, it set up a £25m fund to support 10,000 additional apprenticeships for small businesses and similar sectors with skills shortage.

Do you think the increase of tuition fees is the main reason for fewer student applications at universities or are there other reasons why people decide not to go to university? If you are a young person, tell us what would you choose and why by commenting below:

Asda, the UK’s second biggest supermarket behind Tesco, has announced that it is to open 25 new stores, extend and refurbish 43 of its existing stores and build 3 new depots this year, offering the building industry more opportunities.

New stores are planned for Merseyside, Coventry, Gateshead in Tyne & Wear, Nottinghamshire, Mitcham in London, Ramsgate in Kent, Shepshed in Leicestershire, Todmorden in West Yorkshire, Worcester, and Worthing in West Sussex.

The supermarket which employs over 180,000 people in 528 UK stores and depots will add over 600,000 sq ft of net selling space with its 25 new stores, this will be either as superstores, small format supermarkets or Asda Living stores.

The supermarket confirmed today that it will invest over £500m in UK stores and depots in 2012. The 25 planned new stores and the three depots will create up to 5,000 new jobs across the country. Asda expects many of those employees will be apprentices who are undertaking a City & Guilds apprenticeship.

Prime Minister, David Cameron has welcomed the announcement saying that it is good news for many people across the country who are currently looking to enter employment.

Mr Cameron said: “The additional investment and 5,000 new jobs announced by Asda today will be a real boost for the economy and more importantly for people around Britain seeking jobs.

“I also welcome Asda’s commitment to not only create jobs but invest in their staff too; offering employees the chance to join an apprenticeship scheme to gain skills which will benefit them throughout their career.”- Mr Cameron added.

Asda’s investment and job creation plans were unveiled during a UK visit by President and CEO of Walmart International, Doug McMillon, who emphasised the importance of the project for the UK.

He said:”Our continued investment is because we see a tremendous opportunity in front of us – I’m proud of the difference you’re making and that we can make an even bigger difference in the lives of our customers and the communities we serve”.

Andy Clarke, President and CEO of Asda said he is delighted for the expansion scheme which will create new jobs and employment opportunities for people in all sectors of the UK.

Mr Clarke said:“I look forward to seeing these new stores and depots open for business and welcoming new colleagues and customers.”

Stores currently scheduled for 2012 opening include:

England

Bootle,Merseyside

Coventry, West Midlands

Gateshead, Tyne & Wear

Harworth, Nottinghamshire

Mitcham, Merton

Ramsgate, Kent

Shepshed, Leicestershire

Todmorden, West Yorkshire

Tunbridge Wells, Kent (opened Jan 12)

Worcester, Worcestershire

Worthing- Littlehampton Rd, West Sussex

Scotland

Inverness Slackbuie, Highlands

Larkhall, South Lanarkshire

Tain, Highlands

Wales

Bangor, Gwynedd

If you are doing an apprenticeship scheme in one of the areas where a new Asda store will be built, are you more optimistic about finding a job? Share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment below:

ATL, Apprenticeship Training Limited, was visited by BBC Hereford and Worcester. Hear the program output; see inside an ATL Training Centre and what apprentices think of their training.

Young people across Worcestershire are being hired as a result of a national apprenticeship scheme which aims to provide better employment opportunities and tackle youth unemployment.

The number of young people starting apprenticeships in Worcester this year has doubled compared to the same time in 2010 according to government statistics.

Doing an apprenticeship seems to be an increasingly popular choice than going to university for many young people, a recent BBC survey revealed.

With already increased funding from the government the number of people age between 16-21 years old, who are taking apprenticeships, is expected to rise even further from next year.

Apprenticeship Training Limited (ATL) is a leading national training provider in the Building Services Engineering sector with an established network of centres in the UK including Worcestershire.

Its Hartlebury based centre, which was visited by BBC Hereford and Worcester, provides hundreds of apprenticeships to people of all ages across Worcestershire and West Midlands region.

BBC Hereford and Worcester reported that apprentices are given the opportunity to earn as well as learn whilst they are gaining practical experience from the workplace.

Paul Barnes who is 18-years old and from Bromsgrove, studies with ATL in Hartlebury. Paul said to BBC Hereford and Worcester that he is convinced to have made the right decision by taking on an apprenticeship.

Paul, who completed his GCSEs with two A and three B grades, did not choose to go to university because of the huge debt he would have to pay back after graduating.

“I didn’t want to go to university because the fees are very expensive plus I would have had to spend two years at college doing A levels.

“So, I am skipping that and I am getting paid for the time I would be doing A levels at college and the time at university instead of me having to pay them to be learning.”- the ambitious apprentice said.

Paul added: “I might even come out of this with some savings rather than coming out of with the debt of about £40,000.”

The Government is determined to deepen its funding programme in order to deal with high levels of unemployment and get more people back into work.

In July, it set up a £25m fund to support 10,000 additional apprenticeships for small businesses and similar sectors with skills shortage.

With a record number of youth unemployment in England and university tuition fees of £9,000 from 2012, young people are more likely to choose apprenticeships as a more stable way of developing their careers and pursuing a brighter future.